I Got Off The Plane
by lcdrsuperseal
Summary: "Hey, I know you love me. I know you do. You don't have to do this." Steve blinked, not caring that a few tears escaped. "Sir?" Danny swallowed past the lump in his throat. "I… I have to get on the plane." The 'Friends' finale, McDanno-style. Set anytime in S6, before 6x25.


"You alright, brah?"

Steve nodded in response to Chin's question, continuing to stare at his front door that Danny had just left by. "Yeah… I think so."

"You know that it's okay to not be okay, right? Nobody said this would be easy." Chin said. Steve didn't say anything in reply; just folded his arms close to his chest and looked down at his shoes.

Steve thought back to the day last week that Danny came to see him in his office, and said that he was moving back to New Jersey after NJPD offered him a job running their task force. When he told Steve, he admitted that he hadn't been happy in Hawaii for a while. Thing had been strained between him and Steve, and that had made the decision slightly easier for him.

Both men wanted more from their friendship, but didn't know how to tell the other. Unfortunately because neither of them knew how the other felt, Danny and Steve thought that the other was being weird and distant, with no clue as to why.

Danny's farewell party was always going to be a sore subject for Steve, who had practically turned into a recluse in the week leading up to the party. He'd hidden away in his office, stealing glances at Danny when his blonde partner was otherwise engaged. Steve would sometimes feel emboldened enough to go and tell Danny how he feels, but he'd get halfway across his office before chickening out and making out that he wanted to ask the man how his preparation was going. ("Eight hours on a flight with a teenager unable to use her cell phone? Good luck, Clara." "Are you kidding? Eight hours on a flight with my mother? Good luck, Grace!")

"I know, but…" Steve motioned to the front door. "It's Danny."

"Yeah, I know." Chin cleared his throat before continuing. "Tell him, Steve."

"Tell him what?"

Chin sighed. "Tell him how you feel."

Steve's eyes widened and he looked around them, but everyone else was talking and paying them no attention. "How did you-"

"Steve, come on, brah. It's obvious to all of us that you're in love with him." Chin smiled at him. "You forget, I've known you for a long time."

Steve sighed, looking away as he scratched his head. "Yeah I… I guess you're right. I've…" He took a deep breath. "I've loved him for years, y'know? He's my best friend."

"Maybe you two could work it out long distance?" Kono asked as she came over to where the two men were stood. Steve's face fell as she joined the conversation – his feelings really must have been obvious if everyone knew, but at least they didn't seem to think any less of him.

"If we were a couple hours apart, maybe. But New Jersey? I can't imagine doing that."

Lou sighed. "Man, just tell him how you feel. He might feel the same way – hell, he might not even go!"

"You think?" Steve asked. Chin and Kono nodded in agreement

"The question is, do you want him?" Chin questioned him

He ran a hand down his face. "Yeah, I… I wanna be with him." Steve swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat as he looked back at the front door, before grabbing his keys out of the bowl on the table. "Yeah, I'm gonna go after him."

"Yeah, you are!" Lou clapped as Steve went towards the door. But he suddenly stopped with a hand on the handle and turned back to look at the group.

"Wait, what if he doesn't feel the same way? What if-"

"Oh my god, you're never gonna go! I'll drive you in my car, now go! Move!" Kono exclaimed as she pushed Steve out of the door, ignoring his protests at being manhandled.

* * *

Steve couldn't keep his leg from jiggling as they drove to Honolulu International. He couldn't focus his eyes on anything either, until he glanced down at the speedometer and gasped.

"Oh my God! Kono, slow down!"

"Do you wanna get to Danny in time?"

"Yes, but I don't wanna die in your car!" Steve shouted to be heard over the sound of the car racing down the highway, one hand on the roof of the car.

"You should have thought of that before you got in!" Kono screamed back, briefly taking her eyes off the road to look at him. "Besides, don't tell me that you wouldn't be speeding me to the airport if I needed to see Adam."

Steve shook his head and sighed in defeat. "I don't know if we'll make it, even with you breaking every speed limit known to man."

"Danny's got his cell, you can call him!" Kono said.

"I am not doing this over the phone, Kono." Steve replied sternly.

"You might not have another choice, bruh." A few minutes later, Kono finally spotted the familiar sign on the side of the road. "Right, get ready to run!"

Steve's heart pounded as he jumped out of the car as soon as it came to a standstill and sprinted through the airport, briefly stopping to scan the information board for Danny's flight information before running off in the direction of his gate, Kono hot on his heels the entire time.

He didn't think he'd make it in time, but as he round the corner to the gate where Danny's flight was boarding Steve spotted a familiar blonde figure walking away from the desk, down the hallway and towards the waiting plane.

"Danny! _Danny!_ " Steve shouted as he ran after him.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you have a boarding pass?" The man at the desk asked Steve as he made it past the queue of passengers waiting to get their tickets and passports stamped.

"No I don't, I just need to speak to my friend-" Steve exclaimed, pointing in the direction that Danny vanished in.

"I'm sorry, you can't go further without a boarding pass-"

Kono practically screaming Danny's name, surprising Steve who looked at her with a shocked expression, cut off the steward. Steve breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Danny emerge through the doorway he'd just walked through. His eyes went wide as he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Steve? Kono? What are you guys doing here?" Danny breathed, stopping in front of Steve.

"Okay, you're on." Kono patted Steve's arm before walking away. Steve ran a hand through his hair, unable to take his eyes off of the man before him.

"Steve, you're scaring me now. What's going on?" Danny asked as he was led away from the queue of passengers to a quieter corner of the gate.

Steve took both of Danny's hands in his sweaty ones and looked into his eyes. "Don't go."

"What?"

"Please stay. I am… _so_ in love with you. Please don't go." Steve admitted.

Danny ran both hands through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck, suitcase forgotten behind him. "Oh my God…" He muttered.

"I know, I know, I shouldn't have waited until now to say it, but… that was stupid, okay? I'm sorry, but I'm telling you now." Steve pleaded, his voice wavering. "I love you. Do not get on this plane."

"Sir? Are you boarding the plane?" The steward from earlier came up behind Danny and tapped him on the shoulder. The blonde looked back at the hallway, his face full of uncertainty. Steve tugged his hands, bringing his gaze back.

"Hey, I know you love me. I know you do. You don't have to do this." Steve blinked, not caring that a few tears escaped.

"Sir?"

Danny swallowed past the lump in his throat. "I… I have to get on the plane."

He made as if to turn around, but Steve grabbed his arm. "No, you don't."

"They're waiting for me, Steve. I can't do this right now, I'm sorry." Danny pulled away from Steve, not wanting to look at him but finding himself unable to tear his gaze away. "I'm sorry." He repeated as he walked away, Steve's hands falling limp at his side.

"Danny?" Steve whispered as he took a few steps towards Danny, but halted when the other man shook his head, signalling him to go no further.

"I'm so sorry." Danny said quietly, taking one last look at Steve before walking back down the hallway.

Steve stared as the steward closed and locked the door after Danny walked through it. His heart sank as he realised that he'd probably ruined the best thing to have ever happened to him in a long time, and turned to Kono as he heard her approach him.

"I really thought he'd stay." Steve choked out, before Kono pulled him into an embrace.

* * *

Steve sighed as he walked into his empty house and slumped onto the couch, not even bothering to shut his front door. On the drive back Kono had rung Chin and got him to clear everyone out, stating that Steve didn't want to see anybody.

He reached into his pocket and pulled his cell phone out, only to see that the battery had died at some point on the journey back from the airport. He grabbed his charger and plugged it into the wall next to the couch, frowning when a notification popped up stating that he had a voicemail. Shrugging, he hit 'play' and put it on speaker, setting his phone on the arm of the couch as he bent down to take his shoes off.

 _"Steve? Hi, it's me."_ As soon as he heard Danny's voice Steve sat up straight and stared at his phone.

 _"I just got back on the plane, and I feel awful. That is so not how I wanted things to end with us. It's just that I… I wasn't expecting to see you and all of a sudden you're there and saying these things… Well, I'm just sitting here and thinking of all the things I should have said and I didn't. I mean I didn't get to tell you that I love you too, because of course I do. I love you. I love you… What am I doing?_ I love you! _"_ Steve couldn't believe what he was hearing, or that he could indeed hear anything past the blood rushing in his ears.

 _"I've gotta see you. I've gotta get off this plane."_ He could hear Danny rustling around.

"Oh my God!" Steve muttered to himself.

 _"Excuse me, miss?"_ Danny asked the air stewardess.

 _"Please sit down!"_

 _"No, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, but I need to get off this plane, okay? I need to tell someone that I love them."_ Danny appealed to the woman.

 _"I can't let you off the plane."_

"Let him off the plane!" Steve stood up and shouted at his phone, hands gesturing wildly – much like he was sure that the man on the voicemail was doing.

 _"I'm afraid you're gonna have to take a seat."_

 _"Please, miss, you don't understand!"_

"Try to understand!" Steve yelled at the device.

 _"Oh come on! Isn't there any way you can just let me off this-"_

"No!" Steve cried as the message abruptly ended and he snatched his phone up and began jabbing the screen as he prowled around the room, praying that there was more to the message. "Did he get off the plane? Did he get off the plane?"

"I got off the plane."

Steve whipped round at the sound of Danny's voice, the man himself standing in the open doorway. There was a light breeze blowing outside, and it made a few strands of Danny's hair wave. He was out of breath as if he'd ran from the airport to the house, and his face was red. Steve didn't think he'd ever seen a more beautiful sight.

"You… you got off the plane." He choked out, before closing the distance between them in two giant strides and pulling Danny into his arms. The kiss started soft, barely even a brush of lips, before Steve's hands travelled up Danny's arms and buried themselves in his blonde hair.

"I do love you, you big idiot." Danny smiled, hands wiping at his wet face before clinging to Steve's shirt.

"I love you too, and I am never letting you go again." Steve sniffed, his own tears drying on his cheeks.

"Good, because this is where I wanna be, 'kay? No more mistakes, I don't wanna mess this up again."

"Me neither okay? We are done being stupid."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Really, babe? You couldn't have said that you loved me, say, any other time ever?"

Steve rolled his eyes before softly kissing the tip of Danny's nose. "Fine, starting from now we're done being stupid."

"Okay." Danny grinned, nodding. "You and me, okay? This is it."

Steve let out a breath he didn't realise that he was holding before kissing Danny again. "This is it."


End file.
